Do lions and tigers eat the same thing?

Lions and tigers are among the most ferocious animals but there are important differences between them. They are both among the five big cats (the other three being the jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard) and are apex predators — i.e., they have no predators of their own and reside at the top of their food chain.

Lions typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. The male lion is highly distinctive and is easily recognized by its mane. The lion, particularly the face of the male, is one of the most widely recognized animal symbols in human culture. It has been extensively depicted in literature, in sculptures, in paintings, on national flags, and in films.

Native to the mainland of Asia, the tiger is the largest feline species in the world. The Bengal Tiger is the most common subspecies of tiger, constituting approximately 80% of the entire tiger population, and is found in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Nepal. It is the national animal of India. An endangered species, the majority of the world's tigers now live in captivity.

Comparison chart

	Lion	Tiger
Weight	At least 331–550 lbs for males, and 243–401 lbs for females	200-670 pounds (males); 140-370 pounds (females)
Introduction (from Wikipedia)	The lion (Panthera leo) is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the largest cat species apart from the tiger.	The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to 3.38 m (11.1 ft) over curves and exceptionally weighing up to 420 kg (857 lb) in the wild.
Family	Felidae (cat)	Felidae (cat)
Class	Mammalia	Mammalia
Diet	Carnivore	Carnivore
Order	Carnivora	Carnivora
Speed	45-50 miles Per Hour	Adult tigers can run as fast as 30-40 miles per hour in short bursts. But tigers of the Amur subspecies can run up to 50 miles per hour.
Subfamily	Pantherinae	Pantherinae
Genus	Panthera	Panthera
Species	P. Leo	P. Tigris
Conservation status	Near Threatened	Endangered
Coloring	Coat: tan tail fur/mane:dark brown	Coat: orange with brown-black stripes (Siberian Tigers are whiter)
Habitat	Rich grasslands of East Africa to sands of Kalahari Desert, South Sahara to South Africa, excluding the Congo rain forest and India's Gir forest. Lions like to live in open woodlands and thick bush, scrub, and tall grassy areas.	India to Siberia and South East Asia. They are also found in grassland and swamp margins. They require sufficient cover, a good population of large prey, and a constant water supply. But coexisted with lions before the end of the 19th century (India)
Binomial name	Panthera leo	Panthera tigris
Scientific name	Panthera leo	tPanthera tigris
Life Span	Avg. 12 years in the wild for males and 15-16 years in the wild for females.	Avg. 15 - 20 Years; 20-26 years in captivity
Distinctive feature	A mane ranging in color from tan to black	Stripes all over the body
Hunting behavior	Mostly diurnal	Nocturnal - Ambushes prey
Litter size	Avg. 1 - 2	Avg. 2 - 4
Hunting	Most females hunt together night to make it harder on the prey to see them, but they will sometimes hunt in the daytime. They have three important hunting strategies; that vary based on the prey. The ambush, the blitz, and the siege.	hunts alone during night (nocturnal)
Reproduction	Females will give birth after a gestation period of 100-110 days	Females will give birth after a gestation of 104 days
Brain size	Lions have the second largest brain out of all big cat species. Only tigers have larger brains than lions.	Largest brain and reaches maturity faster than other big cats. Their brain is 25% larger than a lion .
Height	At least 3.5-3.9 ft for males, and 2.6-3.5 ft for females	Adult tigers are 2.3 to 4.0 ft tall at shoulder height.
Number in wild	Unknown	3,000 to 4,000 (Majority of them are in India)
Habitat range	Africa and India	South (India and Bangladesh), Southeast and Eastern Asia
Main Prey	Medium to large ungulates, most notably thompson's gazelle, zebra, wildebeest, impala, warthog, hartebeest, waterbuck, cape buffalo, giraffe	Large animals such as deer, buffalo and wild pigs, but they will also hunt fish, monkeys, birds, reptiles and sometimes even baby elephants. Occasionally, tigers kill leopards, bears and other tigers.They also hunt Gaur and Indian Rhinos.
Population Status	Asiatic - endangered, Others - vulnerable	Critically Endangered
how blends into habitat	tan coloring to match dry grasses	Stripes to resemble shadows of the forest and black ears with white spot on back like eyes.
Striking Strength (Max. mass x speed)	550 x 50= 27500 But on average, they hit equally hard.	670 x 50= 33500 (Amur subspecies) But on average, they hit equally hard.
Avg. Meat required for food	11 - 60 lbs and 57 for large males, the number of lions in the pride may vary.	Tigers may consume up to 40 kg (88 pounds) of meat at one time. It is estimated that every tiger consumes about 50 deer-sized animals each year, about one per week.
Teeth and Jaws	3.2 in. canines and heavy pressure jaws. Has a bite force of ~1000 PSI. Has more well-developed incisors and molars- thus, a stronger bite force at the molars.	A wide mouth that has strong teeth 3.6 in. canines. Also has a bite force of ~1000 PSI, but the larger sagittal crest on top of the skull gives it a more powerful bite at the canines.
Body Length (mm)	At least 4.6-5.7 ft for females, and 5.6-8.2 ft for males	2000 - 3300 (2 - 3.3 meters)
Other food sources	Opportunistic and will readily scavenge the kills of cheetahs, leopards, wild dogs, and hyenas.	Will strictly eat only meat hunted by self. When old, will depend on either smaller preys requiring less effort or on other tigers of the pack.
Sexual Maturity of Cubs	24 - 28 Months in Captivity; 36 - 46 Months in Wild	24 - 28 Months in Captivity; 36 - 46 Months in Wild
Head and body Length	At least 4.6-5.7 ft for females, and 5.6-8.2 ft for males	8.2 - 13ft in males; 6.6-9ft in females.
Mother nurses cubs for	10 - 12 Months	18 - 24 Months
Tail length	27.6-40.8 inches	24-43.2 inches
Record weight	Captive males: Approximately 454 kg (1,000 lbs) Wild male: 691 lbs	Captive Male:1025 lbs=465 kgs Wild male: 857 lbs
Origin	Africa and India	Asia
visible features	light yellow	black stripes can be light orange or white
Tail (mm)	700 - 1000	600 - 1100
Physical Strength	Are ~60% muscle, and have higher density bones than tigers. In terms of bone strength, lions are stronger.	Tigers are ~60-70% muscle but have lower bone density than lions. In terms of muscular strength, tigers are stronger.
Kingdom:	Animalia	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora	Carnivora
Introduction (from Britannica encyclopedia )	Lions live in Africa and India. Lions are the second largest of the five big cats in the genus panthera.	Tiger, (Panthera tigris), the largest member of the cat family (Felidae), is rivaled only by the lion (Panthera leo) in strength and ferocity. The tiger is endangered throughout its range
Subspecies	Panthera leo leo in Asia and parts of Africa, and Panthera leo melanochaita in other parts of Africa	The Siberian, or Amur, tiger (P. tigris altaica) is the largest, measuring up to 4 metres (13 feet) in total length and weighing up to 300 kg (660 pounds).

Differences in Physical characteristics

Physical characteristics of lions

Reaching up to 250 kg (550 lb), lions are the second-largest in the cat family (the tiger is the largest).

During confrontations with others, the mane makes the lion look bigger than he really is. With powerful legs, a strong jaw, and long canine teeth, the lion can bring down and kill large prey. Lion coloration varies from light buff to yellowish, reddish or dark ochraceous brown. The underparts are generally lighter and the tail tuft is black. The color of the mane varies from blond to black. The lion is a carnivore and a hunter. Its legs are short with very powerful muscles. Male lions are 20 to 35% larger than the females and 50% heavier. Each lion has, what are called, "whisker spots". The pattern formed by this top row of whiskers differs in every lion and remains the same throughout its lifetime.

Tigers' physical features

The majority of tigers are tawny brown in color with dark stripes and whitish. Tigers have rusty-reddish to brown-rusty coats, a fair (whitish) medial and ventral area and stripes that vary from brown or hay to pure black. The form and density of stripes differs between subspecies, but most tigers have in excess of 100 stripes. The pattern of stripes is unique to each animal, and thus could potentially be used to identify individuals, much in the same way as fingerprints are used to identify people. This is not, however, a preferred method of identification, due to the difficulty of recording the stripe pattern of a wild tiger. It seems likely that the function of stripes is camouflage, serving to hide these animals from their prey. The stripe pattern is found on a tiger's skin and if shaved, its distinctive camouflage pattern would be preserved.

A tiger in the same zoo, giving its signature "not impressed" expression.

Tigers have round pupils and yellow irises. Tigers are the heaviest cats found in the wild, but the subspecies differ strongly in size. Large male Siberian Tigers can reach a total length of 3 m and a weight of 272-273 kg kg. Apart from those exceptional large individuals, male Siberian tigers usually have a head and body length of 200–280 cm and an average weight of 227 kg. The heaviest Indian Tiger (P. t. tigris) mentioned in literature weighed 389 kg (857 lb), the heaviest Siberian tiger (P. t. altaica) 384 kg. Females are smaller, those of the Siberian or Indian subspecies weigh between 110 and 181 kg.

Diet

Lion: Adult females require an average of 11 pounds of meat per day and adult males, 15.4 lbs. The pride provides food to its sick and wounded members but not to the male. The male uses his size to take what he wants of the lioness' kill. A typical diet will include zebra, giraffe, buffalo, wildebeest, gazelles and impala. Lions are opportunistic and will readily scavenge the kills of cheetahs, leopards, wild dogs and hyenas.

Tiger: Their main prey species are large animals such as deer, buffalo and wild pigs, but they will also hunt fish, monkeys, birds, reptiles and sometimes even baby elephants. Occasionally, tigers kill leopards, bears and other tigers.

Habitat and Geographical Distribution

Lion: Rich grasslands of East Africa to sands of Kalahari Desert, South Sahara to South Africa, excluding the Congo rain forest. They avoid dense forests because prey is scarce. Competition for Africa's grasslands by humans has drastically reduced the lions' range. Although lions were once widespread throughout much of Africa, Asia, Europe, and even prehistoric North and South America, they currently exist in the wild only in sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia with a critically endangered remnant population in northwest India. The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a possibly irreversible population decline of 30 to 50% over the past two decades in its African range. Although the cause of the decline is not well-understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern.

Tiger: Tigers range from India to Siberia and South East Asia. Tigers prefer habitat is forest although they can also be found in grassland and swamp margins. They require sufficient cover, a good population of large prey and a constant water supply.

Tiger vs Lion Life span

Lion: In the wild, lions live for approximately 12–18 years, while in captivity they can live over 24 years.

Tiger: The life span of tigers in the wild is thought to be about 10 - 12 years. Tigers in zoos live up to 25 years or more, but not by much.

Reproduction in lions and tigers

Lion: After a gestation period of 100-110 days, the pregnant female leaves the pride and finds a place to deliver. Depending on the physical characteristics of their habitat, lions will hide their newborn cubs in marshes or kopjes. The number of cubs born depends on the age and dietary condition of the mother. The litter size is 1 to 6 offspring. Cubs are nursed 6-7 months. Cubs reach sexual maturity at 24 to 28 months in captivity and at 36 to 46 months in the wild. If a pride is taken over by a new male who has defeated the top resident male, he will most likely kill any existing cubs that are under 2 years old.

Tiger: Females will give birth to 2-4 cubs after a gestation of 104 days. They will stay with their mother for up to two years before leaving to stake out their own territories. Males look for territories away from their birth site, but females may sometimes share their mother’s territories. As with lions, male tigers may kill a female's cubs if the cubs are the offspring of another male. This ensures that the female will come into oestrus and bear the new male's offspring. They are active at dawn and dusk.

Fights: Who would win?

L. M. Boyd writing for The Victoria Advocate said:

That the typical tiger is a fiercer fighter than the typical lion is common knowledge. Less widely known is what gives that tiger the advantage. Simple thing. The lion stands on three paws to maul with the fourth. But the tiger balances itself on its hind legs to maul with both front paws simultaneously.

BBC Earth Unplugged decided to compare the strength, agility and intelligence of lions and tigers in this interesting test:

Hybrids: Liger and Tigon

The offspring of a male lion (Panthera leo) and a female tiger (Panthera tigris) is called a liger. The hybrid of a male tiger and female lion is called a tigon or tiglon. The liger is the largest known feline creature because it typically grows larger than both parent species. Like tigers, ligers enjoy swimming; and like lions, they are very sociable.

Ligers and tigons are only found in captivity because the natural habitats of lions and tigers do not overlap. These hybrids were thought to be sterile but there have been known instances of them producing offspring.

Interesting links

• Awesome pictures of lions

References

• Lion - Encyclopædia Britannica
• Tiger - Encyclopædia Britannica
• All About Tigers - SeaWorld
• All About the African Lion - SeaWorld

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